Clocking up growth every year

Moosa Haji, Chairman

Since its inception in 1968, Fathima Group has increased its footprint to various countries. Retail, its flagship business division, is a major employment generator in the country. In an interview with Khaleej Times, Haji Moosa E.P., Chairman, Fathima Group, talks about the way forward. Excerpts: 
Fathima Group has chartered a long way since its inception. Give us a brief overview of the company.
Fathima Group made its humble beginning in 1968 with a neighbourhood shop on old Airport road, Abu Dhabi. Currently, the Group has 22 business divisions operating in the UAE, Qatar, Oman, KSA, China and India. Retail is the core business of the Group with 36 outlets including supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores and shopping centres. Recently, Fathima Group tied up with Continente, an international European hypermarket chain, and part of ?6-billion Sonae Group from Portugal, to open branches in the GCC. 
Tell us about the scale of operations of the group.
We have offices in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, KSA, India and China. Overall, more than 3,000 people of different nationalities work for us. These include Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Nepalese, Indonesians, Filipinos, Emiratis, Saudis, Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Chinese, Portuguese, French, etc.
In more than four decades, the group has diversified widely. Tell us about the various business divisions.
Our flagship business is in the retail industry, wherein we operate through various formats including supermarkets and hypermarket under the brand name Fathima. In the coming years, we are planning to launch Continente hypermarkets across the GCC. The first Continente store will be operational by mid-2016 in Deira, Dubai.
The Group also has franchise rights of the international fashion brand stores Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England and Louis Philippe to open exclusive outlets in the GCC. Of these, three will be operational by March 2016.
In the hospitality space, we have acquired franchise rights for international seafood restaurant chain called The Manhattan Fish Market.
We have a strong presence in the telecom industry too. Launched in 2008, Fathima Telecom is today one of the largest national distributors of simcard and recharge products of Etisalat across the UAE. We have a strong distribution channel with over 2,000 dealer network, Fathima supermarkets and remote camps.
We are also very well grounded in the catering business and operate under the brand name Fairway Catering. Our central kitchens are based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and are accredited with HCCP and ISO certifications. Currently the catering company serves more than 50,000 meals per day.
Besides this, our other operations include Fairway General Trading, Fairway Flour Mills, Fathima Fresh Meat Trading, Fairway Frozen Foods, Mr. Cook Spices and Pulses, Palm Spring Pure Drinking Water, Al Gazal automatic Bakery, Feltron consumer electronics and home appliances, Gray Dolphin dhow cruise, chain of restaurants and coffee shops under the brand names Fathima, Bureau Café, The Manhattan Fish Market, Crispy Bites, Al Asala heritage restaurant, etc. The Group also owns SAAS Tower, a three-star hotel in Cochin, India, and garment manufacturing units in India. 
Fathima Group would be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018. How do you plan to commemorate the year?
We plan to open our 50th retail outlet in the Golden Jubilee year. 
What is the guiding mantra for the group?
Starting as a friendly neighbourhood store in Abu Dhabi, today we are a 47-year-old group with a diversified regional presence that is based on its core strategy of strict values of honesty, innovation and friendliness. Fathima stores stand as a final destination where quality meets affordability.
- suneeti@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• Abu Dhabi